1991 - 2006. EUROBATS celebrates its 15th anniversary

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4 EUROBATS Publication Series No 1 Countries wood-lands. These activities involved many local bat workers. As a result knowledge on the ecology and conservation of bats grew rapidly. Bat workers on the local level used and mutually improved the available information on bats in Germany. EUROBATS not only pushed these pro- cesses but also brought new facts and ideas to German bat conservation practices through the resolutions and guidelines adopted by the Meeting of the Parties after international consultation. The scientific information on bats, which is available now, has lead to an improvement of the recognition of bat conservation demands within landscape planning pro- cesses. It is no longer an exception to take bats into account when protected areas are managed, environmental impacts of plans or projects are assessed, or the sustainabi- lity of land use practice is evaluated. One si- gnificant driving force for this development was the EUROBATS Agreement. Communication In Germany there are several areas of media providing information on bats, among them the two scientific journals “Myotis” and “Nyctalus”. Communication is good among academic chiropterologists, species conservation administrators and regional bat workers. However, information exchange between these groups is sometimes poor. Under EUROBATS the situation changes, as all relevant data is considered for the Na- tional Reports, which mutually provide the information to everybody. Usually the Bun- deslaender cooperate with regional NGOs, universities and other institutions when preparing their contributions to the Natio- nal Report. The Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), which compiles the Na- tional Report from all regional and national contributions, published German versions to get all interested persons informed about current initiatives and developments in bat conservation in Germany. So after compila- tion the provided information finds its way back to local bat workers. The Federal Government further improved communication in bat conservation by the funding of scientific meetings (e.g. on Myotis dasycneme and bats in environmental impact assessments), the funding of activities to raise public awareness (e.g. posters and the European Bat Night in Ber- lin) and the publication of project results (through BfN). In accordance with the Agreement text, great efforts were made to inform the public about bats and their needs for conservation. A brochure was printed by BMU and achie- ved very good levels of circulation. It is now available in its fourth edition. Specific information is additionally communicated by special publications from BfN, addressing house owners, architects and foresters. There is also a guideline for bat workers, who like to start their own activities for the promotion of bat conservation (e.g. communication with journalists, school projects or guided tours). But the most successful aspect aimed at spreading awareness of bat conservation is the European Bat Night, which was intro- duced by the EUROBATS Secretariat. Every year this event takes place at numerous lo- calities on the last weekend in August. It is a perfect example of EUROBATS bringing together volunteers from all levels of bat conservation to communicate with the ge- neral public and the media.
International exchange If we look across borders and think about passing knowledge to neighbouring countries, or learning about the views of other people, we come to the most important ob- stacle for the implementation of the EURO- BATS Agreement: foreign languages. The continent of Europe is rich in diverse languages. English has developed as the leading language in science and international af- fairs, and this is true for EUROBATS. But on the local level people frequently don’t read or even understand English and stick to their native language. So, all the information on bats and bat conservation, which is relevant for local bat workers and conservationists, should be provided in the locally spoken language. However, translations are time consuming and expensive, which makes international exchange complicated. In Europe, German publications are wi- dely distributed. But additional versions in English are necessary to really share the information among EUROBATS collabo- rators. Therefore, the German Federal Go- vernment promoted translations wher-ever possible and welcomes similar initia-tives, for example the translation of the German project report on bats in woodlands by French mammalogists and the translation of the German leaflet on bat conservation in forests for several eastern European countries with support from the Belgium government and the EUROBATS Secretariat. Collaboration in international bat conservation should be improved. EUROBATS already initiated a number of occasions for exchange of ideas and experiences among bat workers from different European countries. Because of the Agreement it beca- me usual to invite colleagues from other 1991-2006 • EUROBATS celebrates its 15 th anniversary countries to German bat conferences and workshops. Each visit creates new personal relations and even friendships. As a result the European bat worker community grows together and develops common conservation practices through continuous collaboration and exchange. This is one of the aims of EUROBATS. Future challenges Future work under EUROBATS should not only promote the collection of new information on bats and bat conservation but also improve communication nationally and internationally. To achieve the Agree- ment’s goals it is vital to translate relevant information into locally spoken languages. In those fields of bat conservation work, which are mentioned in the EUROBATS conservation and management plan as they are relevant all over the continent of Europe, international cooperation should be intensified. However, the establishment of monitoring schemes to identify population trends, an improvement of knowledge about migra- tion patterns of several bat species, or the development of standards for assessments of the impacts of wind turbines on bats are dependant on people who are prepared to offer their knowledge. All participants of the EUROBATS Agreement are grateful for the contributions of knowledge provided by local bat workers and NGOs from Germa- ny and other countries during the last 1 years! Dr. Peter Boye, Federal Ministry for the Environment Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety E-mail: peter.boye@bmu.bund.de
Page 1 and 2:
EUROBATS Publication Series No 1 19
Page 3:
When one tugs at a single thing in
Page 7 and 8: Contents Foreword 1991-2006 • EUR
Page 9 and 10: Foreword 15 years of EUROBATS, a mo
Page 11 and 12: On the eve of the 1 th anniversary
Page 13 and 14: monitoring activities and advising
Page 15 and 16: Happy Birthday EUROBATS! NABU, the
Page 17 and 18: an Agreement on the Conservation of
Page 19 and 20: Signing of the Bats Agreement: Rt.
Page 21 and 22: Just over 1 years ago, I got a new
Page 23 and 24: was finalised by using part of the
Page 25 and 26: the conservation of Schreiber´s ba
Page 27 and 28: were adopted with some amendments w
Page 29 and 30: and non-governmental organisations
Page 31 and 32: 1991-2006 • EUROBATS celebrates i
Page 33 and 34: at conservation programs. The Agree
Page 35 and 36: fauna is represetned. At present 28
Page 39 and 40: Monitoring Bats are extensively stu
Page 41 and 42: the EUROBATS Agreement, in conjunct
Page 43 and 44: different villages in the Bulgarian
Page 45 and 46: Myotis capaccinii © Boyan Petrov N
Page 47 and 48: some 110 associates, including many
Page 53 and 54: an unacceptable rate of injuries ca
Page 55: 1991-2006 • EUROBATS celebrates i
Page 59 and 60: The Bat House The Bat House was fou
Page 63 and 64: Participants at a bat detector trai
Page 67 and 68: Future challenges Looking to EUROBA
Page 69 and 70: to develop effective conservation s
Page 75 and 76: the 28 th September 2004, when the
Page 79 and 80: Recent conservation activities In r
Page 83 and 84: • establishing a national databas
Page 87 and 88: lionidae family, so the number of p
Page 89 and 90: an ongoing data-processing and -upd
Page 93 and 94: (in 1997 turned to new name “Vesp
Page 95 and 96: Lehotska, B. & Lehotsky, R. (200 )
Page 97 and 98: ing protection to bats was the decr
Page 99 and 100: ist use of cave roosts and on renov
Page 101 and 102: Presentation of bats at the element
Page 105 and 106: Investigations Project conti- nues
Page 107 and 108:
at conservation high up in governme
Page 109 and 110:
FFPS Flora and Fauna Preservation S
Page 111 and 112:
Holy See 1991-2006 • EUROBATS cel
Page 113:
Myotis hajastanicus (Argyropulo, 19
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1991 - 2006. EUROBATS celebrates its 15th anniversary

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